Industry Insights

Global pharmaceutical robots market size was valued at USD 130 million in 2016 and is projected to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period. Growing need for automation in manufacturing units has led to the growth of the market.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing units need automated machines for easy and quick accomplishment of tasks. With the growing amount of work, there is rising demand for pharmaceutical robots. These machines assist drug manufacturers in conducting research activities pertaining to drug discovery, development, and inspection.

Laboratory automation is an emerging segment in the field of robotics. Robots help transfer and package materials such as diagnostic kits & assays. This eliminates human error and allows scientists to focus on the experiment. Other robotic applications include reducing repetitive work of capping, uncapping, and operating manual pipettes. Thus, automated machines help research scientists by facilitating easy and rapid laboratory work.

The robotics field is witnessing huge technological advancements. Pharmaceutical robot is an emerging segment in the field of industrial robots. Companies are introducing technologically advanced robotic machines, which is expected to result in tremendous growth of the market. For instance, collaborative robots (cobots) such as UR3 ROBOT by Universal Robots A/S, which assist in picking & placing, conducting lab analysis, and injection molding are revolutionizing manufacturing units with new technology. Many pharmaceutical companies are replacing traditional robotic machines with such robots, which are a combination of human and cobots, because of their ability to provide flexibility and efficiency.

Automaton in the pharmaceutical industry is benefiting companies as well as the society as a whole. With the introduction of robotics, there has been a huge reduction in human labor, which has further led to minimization of production cost. This, in turn, has helped in further reducing the overall cost of drugs.

Product Insights

Within this product segment, traditional robots held the largest share in 2016. Increased awareness about these machines and rising usage are some of the factors generating revenue for this segment. There are different types of traditional robotic machines in the market for different applications. These include articulated, SCARA, delta, cartesian, and dual-arm robots.

In 2016, articulated robots dominated the market due to their ability to inspect and pack drugs in pharmaceutical companies and laboratories. These machines are easy to operate and possess large work envelope. The M-430iA manufactured by Fanuc Corporation, which assists in unloading diagnostic test kits, is an articulated robot.

Amongst the traditional robotic machines, SCARA robots are expected to showcase lucrative growth over the forecast period. These machines are cheaper in comparison to other robots and have faster movement capacity with limited work envelope. These devices also facilitate easy and efficient pick-and-place applications with point-to-point movements.

The collaborative robots segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to its new & advanced technology that allows interaction between humans and robots. Moreover, these machines are cheaper and easier to maintain as compared to the traditional ones. They are lightweight and require minimum skills to handle.

Application Insights

On the basis of application, picking & packaging generated majority of the revenue for the market mainly due to high demand for personalized packaging. The biggest benefits offered by robotic machines in the field of pharmaceuticals include high speed, efficient track & trace, and optimum utilization of floor space.

A large number of traditional machines such as 6-axis articulated robots, like VS-068A2 and VP-6242G, developed by Denso Wave Incorporated are used for picking & packaging. Hence, it is considered an ideal application for all product segments.

Inspection of pharmaceutical drugs is expected to grow significantly due to exponential growth in the pharmaceutical industry and the development of new drugs. These factors have contributed to huge growth in this segment due to the need for high speed and efficient workflow.

Laboratory applications are anticipated to grow at an attractive CAGR over the forecast period due to growing drug discovery and other research activities. Automation of laboratory activities also minimizes the risk of human contamination. Thus, it results in high-throughput analysis of different tests performed in laboratories.

End use Insights

On the basis of end use, pharmaceutical companies held the largest share in 2016. This is due to the increasing application of robotics in the pharmaceutical industry with new drug discovery and development. Moreover, pharmaceutical companies are also developing personalized medicine and clinical trials, which is further supporting growth of the market.

Research laboratories are projected to showcase significant growth over the forecast period due to growing usage of robotic machine in these facilities. Laboratory automation has revolutionized the R&D sector and facilitated rapid test analysis with the incorporation of robotic machines.

Asia Pacific pharmaceutical robots market share, by end use, 2016

Regional Insights

In 2016, Asia Pacific dominated the market owing to the presence of a large number of local pharmaceutical companies in countries like Japan. In addition, as per the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China is the largest market for industrial robots. Thus, local presence of leading pharmaceutical companies with vast manufacturing units in these countries is expected to accelerate growth of this region.

Europe also contributed toward a significant share in 2016 owing to huge penetration of robotics in Germany. According to IFR, annual sales of robotic machines in Germany was very high in 2015, making this country the 5th largest industrial robot market across the globe. Moreover, the European Union is taking initiatives to establish regulatory standards pertaining to safety protocols in the robotics field.

North America is projected to showcase lucrative growth over the forecast period due to the presence of global pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. Moreover, growing adoption of production automation to enhance the efficiency of manufacturing units has further led to growth in North America.

Primary strategies conducted by these companies include mergers & acquisitions, new product development, and regional expansions. For instance, in 2016, FANUC America Corporation announced the opening of its four new facilities, relocation of three facilities, and the addition of three new regional training centers. In 2017, Universal Robots launched Universal Robots Academy that provides free online training in robot programming to raise awareness about automation.

If you need specific market information, which is not currently within the scope of the report, we will provide it to you as a part of customization

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, & country levels and provides an analysis on the latest trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the pharmaceutical robots market on the basis of product, application, end use, and region: